


Daddy'll help you heal baby boy

by NobodyGivesAShit1969



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angry Carl, Baby Daryl, Bed-Wetting, Daddy Rick, Diapers, Littles Are Kinda Known, M/M, Mean Shane, Nightmares, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifiers, Sad Daryl, Spanking, baby bottles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2020-04-11 23:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19120297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyGivesAShit1969/pseuds/NobodyGivesAShit1969
Summary: Daryl is a Little, but nobody understands. Everyone thinks he's not as intelligent as average people, which is why he doesn't get the treatment a Little should get as soon as they present.





	1. The boy with the sad, blue eyes

**Author's Note:**

> HIII! You'll notice that I've changed a few things so thay the story makes a little bit more sense. I hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed its first version.

 

* * *

  When the police took him to the station to give a statement on what had happened during a fight his brother had been involved in, they noticed that there was something odd about him as soon as they saw him. He sat alone in the waiting room, where the police officer that had brought him to the station had told him to wait until he was called into an office, and the first thing he did was play with his fingers. Then he started moving his feet to an imaginary rhythm, and then he grabbed a magazine and started looking at the pictures. 

  A few moments later, he heard a raspy cough and looked up to see that there was a man sitting a few chairs away from him. He looked at him and decided that the man didn't seem very friendly, so he tried to look away until someone called him. But the guy coughed again and cursed, which made the young man open his eyes really wide. 

  "Wha', got somthin' t' say?" The guy gave him a look of disdain and watched him shrink as he shook his head fervently. "Ah" The guy smirked. 

  Daryl was usually a quiet and tranquil young adult. He didn't like fighting, unlike his brother, and the only thing he seemed to enjoy were quiet walks in the woods. That was, at least, one thing he and Merle had in common. That, and the fact that they both hated their father. The man was a drunken, ignorant, racist and sexist bastard. Merle was those things as well, but at least he didn't hit Daryl... Well, not so much. He only did it to protect him and to strengthen him up before the world ate him alive. The boy was just too sweet and naive. 

  But the guy that was staring at him with his disgusting look gave Daryl a motive to fight. He wanted to punch the guy, but he didn't. But he wanted to. 

  "Dixon?" A woman called him from an office. He stood up and walked towards her, eyes glued to the floor. He didn't want her to see that he was nervous, but his clumsy behavior made it obvious for the young woman. She smiled friendly at him, but he barely saw her face. "Sit down, let's talk for a bit" She pointed to the chair in front of the desk and sat down on her side of the wooden said desk. 

   The woman, Bianca, had noticed that he was a Little and wanted to make him feel as comfortable as possible. She smiled when he sat down and shyly looked up at her, his face still down but his blue eyes locked or her brown ones. She seemed friendly, not like the guy from the waiting room. 

   "Okay, let's talk about what you saw tonight" She started, noticing that he tensed up as soon as he heard her words. He stayed still, barely breathing, and let her continue talking. "It's okay, you're not in trouble--"

   "But Merle is" He said in a murmur. "Right?" Something about the way he spoke told her that his Little side was fighting to change the way he talked. 

   She sighed sadly. "Yeah, he is. But the good thing is that you can help him" 

  He opened his eyes wide. "How?" 

  She smiled and leaned forward, coming closer to him and resting her elbows on the desk. "You can tell me what happened, so that the police know about it and can help Merle" She said. "You think you can do that?" 

  He nodded slowly and she winked at him. 

  "That's great!" 

 

  As he narrated the violent events in front of a camera, the woman wrote a few things down on her notepad. When he finished, she turned the camera off and put it away. 

   "So, who do you live with?" She asked him, worried that he tried to be big despite his own suffering. 

   "With my brother an' my pa" He answered, shrugging. He didn't think that had anything to do with his brother and the bar fight over the bags with powder. 

   "Do you get on well with them?" She asked again. 

   He looked down, not knowing how to answer that question without saying anything about his scars and bruises. She just nodded amd wrote something down. 

   "Where is your pa? Can he pick you up?" She asked, and Daryl shook his head. 

   "Dunno where he is" He answered, looking away. She nodded and wrote again. He leaned forward to try and see what she had been writing, but he couldn't see anything. "But, please, don' call him" He was afraid his pa would get angry and hurt him again if he thought he had said something about his illegal activities to the police. 

  She shook her head. "Nobody's gonna call him, don't worry. As I said, you're not in trouble" The woman spoke calmly enough to make him look at her and find some kind of comfort. "But since you can't stay with your family, we're going to have to make sure you're safe with someone else" 

  Daryl didn't understand why they thought he needed someone to take care of him. He could take care of himself perfectly, that's what he had done since he was little and his brother always got in trouble and had to go to jail. 

   "I can take care o' myself" He muttered, shrugging. He needed to show her confidence, that's how he knew he'd convince her. But her face showed doubt. "I can" 

  The woman stayed quiet for a few seconds and then she spoke. "Daryl, how do you sleep?" 

   "Huh?" How did he what?! 

   She smiled and nodded. "Yes, how do you sleep?" She paused. "Do you hug pillows? Do you need to have something to bite or suck to relax?" 

  "What---? Why does that matter?" He asked, quite skittish. 

   The woman stared at him. "Just answer the question, please"

   Daryl pursed his lips together, not understanding yet, and nodded half-convinced. 

    "Yeah, I hug my pillow an' bite my thumb" He answered coldly. He didn't think it was a good thing that she knew something so intimate about him, but she was a police officer after all. He could get in trouble if he didn't answer. 

   "Do you know why you do all those things?" She asked, hoping he knew that about himself. But he shook his head, so she answered: "That's because you're a little. Littles do what you do: suck or bite their fingers, hug pillows and plush toys... That's what they do. They're also slower when learning things, mostly at school, and they're more sensitive. I know you identify with all of what I've said, I can see it" 

   Daryl's face was red and his eyes were teary. 

   "I always thought I's jus' stupid" He looked down at his feet and played with his fingers. 

  She smiled sympathetically and shook her head, feeling sad that the poor boy didn't have the support he needed. "No, of course not. You're a little!" 

   Daryl was ashamed, all he had heard about littles— not that he knew much about them— was that they were pansy and that they had accidents all the time. And Daryl sometimes did have accidents, but never so many to even think that he could be a little. But being a little would explain many things, such as his sensitivity and his love for painting and drawing. At least, now he knew that he wasn't a basket case like people from his town used to say. 

   "B-but I don't know how to be little, I never could be" He bit his bottom lip. 

   "Don't worry about that, I'll make sure you're with someone who can teach you how to be little. It's important for you to be yourself" 

 

   Bianca left her office to talk to some of the other officers, in order to find someone who could take care of the little she had just discovered. She had left the boy sitting on her chair and watching TV in her office, where she knew he would be safe. 

   "You could leave him with Joel" Said Lionel, one of the newest deputies. 

   Bianca nodded. "It's not a bad idea, but he already has children to take care of. Same with Rick" She said. "I don't think it'd be a good idea to give either this kind of responsibility" 

   Harry, from the forensics group, nodded. "You're right"

   Bianca nodded. "Yeah, but they're the only ones who actually are caregivers. I don't know anyone else who could take care of someone like him the way they would" 

   Lione laughed. "Give 'im to Shane" 

   Bianca and Harry laughed as well. Harry said: "It's not a bad idea, though, because Shane is protective. Also, he would agree if you gave him some extra money" 

  Bianca shook her head. "No. If he doesn't do it voluntarily, it's useless. Also, I can't bribe people. That's kind of illegal, you know?" She winked at Harry. "You wanna spend the night behind bars or some?" 

   Harry Shook his head fervently. "No ma'am" They laughed. 

   Bianca smiled at him. "Then don't suggest illegal stuff. I can't be your partner in crime, I'm supposed to be your boss" 

   "If only we could be criminals..." Harry jokingly dreamed, making Bianca roll her eyes. 

  "You could. Now, get to work and stop dreaming" She said, trying to sound tough. "'Cause I can tell you'd confess to picking up a quarter from the streets" 

 

   When Bianca entered her office, after making some calls, she was surprised to see that Daryl had fallen asleep on her desk. He had his thumb in his mouth and the look on his face was so nice she didn't want to wake him. But she still had chores to do and the boy would soon have to go, so she gently rubbed his back and whispered. 

  "Hey sweetheart, you need to wake up" She said, trying not to startle him as he started opening his eyes. 

   He looked at her, worried that she would be mad at him for sleeping in her office, and his eyes filled with tears. 

  Bianca noticed that the poor boy was shaking, so she continued rubbing his back. "Shh, shh... It's okay, you don't have to be scared" 

   "Sorry I fell asleep" He stared down, embarrassed and still scared. 

  "Don't worry about that, you're just tired" She smiled sweetly at him and patted the patted the seat on the other side of the desk for him to sit on that chair. "I've decided who's going to take you home for some time, until your brother's... punishment ends" Merle was going to jail, if the police could win the case this time, but she wasn't going to tell him that. They had found drugs in the bags of his motorcycle, which was a crime they had the evidence to punish him with, not like all the other times he had gotten in trouble. 

   Daryl rubbed his eyes. "Who's that?"

   Bianca smiled "Well, he's one of our best officers. He's not an actual Caregiver but that's all we can do for now. He's gonna keep you safe though, which is the most important thing" She wasn't going to tell Daryl that she'd had to offer Shane a raise for taking care of the young man, only if he did the job the way he was supposed to. 

 

 

 

 


	2. A deal is a deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane brings Daryl to his house and discovers how much he hates Littles. Daryl has a little accident and runs away :c Rick comes to the rescue!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys for taking so long, these months have been lazy and crazy lol I'm okay, tho.

   Shane parked the car and let out a big sigh, knowing that from now on his house would be plagued with toys, dirty diapers, formula and baby powder. He  _hated_ littles, they were too needy and whiny. Also, he didn't have that "caregiver instinct" that caregivers had, which made everything more difficult for him. But Bianca had promised that he would be offered a raise and would be promoted if he took care of the poor, helpless Little. He figured he would finally be able to buy a new car if he got that raise, and that's what he focused on as he carried Daryl into his house. 

  "Okay, from now on you'll live here" He said, sitting the boy on the couch and leaving the bag with the guy's clothes on the floor. He looked at the confused, little guy on the couch and saw the most innocent look he had ever seen on his face. Daryl looked so lost and scared, he had never been little before. "Rules are simple: don't dug through my stuff, don't try to escape, don't run" He said, and then he remembered one last thing. "Oh, Bianca told me that sometimes you have accidents. Don't. I'm not gonna change you out of your shitty pants, okay?" 

  Daryl's eyes widened: how was he supposed to stop having accidents? He was screwed, there was no way he could learn to hold it for longer than 5 minutes. Sometimes he didn't even realize he needed to use the bathroom before he got his pants all dirty. Merle always got mad when he had to help Daryl change his clothes after having an accident, and he guessed that the same thing would happen while he stayed with Shane. 

   "'Kay" He looked down at his lap. 

  "I don't know how you were punished at home, but here misbehavior gets you slapped in the face and sent to bed without dinner" Shane said, trying to sound as threatening as possible in order to scare the boy and keep him from misbehaving so his job would be easier. 

  Daryl nodded, already scared. But he knew that, even if he tried to behave, one day he would mess up and make everyone mad at him. 

   "Also, this is not a restaurant. You'll eat what you're given and that's it" Shane had heard from Bianca that some littles were fussy eaters. Well, no one that stepped into Shane's house, little or not, would have a menu to choose meals from. 

  Daryl nodded. That was something he had never had problems with: he ate anything. Well, only if he was starving; otherwise, he was a little picky when it was about food. But now he knew that it was because he was little, and not like his brother had said: "he's too dumb to realize that money isn't common in this house, that's why he's so damn picky". Daryl now knew that he wasn't dumb, which was a relief, but did now know that he was a Little, which was a problem.

  "I think that's all you had to know" Shane said and then entered the kitchen. "I'm gonna cook something" He yelled as he retrieved a few ingredients from the fridge. 

   "'Kay" Daryl said. 

   They had dinner a few minutes later, in awkward silence. Daryl finished quickly and played with his fingers as he waited for Shane to finish his food. 

  "You're gonna sleep in the guest room, can go unpack now" He said. "Don't need ya watching me eat" He spoke as he chewed a piece of meat. 

  Daryl nodded and, looking down, went to fetch his bag and then headed towards the guest room. It was a small room with a small bed and a small bedside table. He sat on the bed and took his clothes out of the bag, then folded everything and put it on the bedside table. Then, he laid down and covered himself with the bed sheets and stared blankly at the wall. What was he supposed to do, stare at the wall until he fell asleep?! He was bored. But he was also tired, so he closed his eyes and stayed still until he fell asleep. 

   Shane went straight to sleep after washing the dishes, hearing that everything was quiet except for Daryl's tiny snores. 

   But peace lasted less than two hours, because Daryl woke up screaming, crying and sweating, and his cries woke Shane. The man, angry and overly tired, ran across the hallway and almost kicked the door open as he entered the boy's room. Startled, Daryl turned his head towards him and cried harder, knowing that his past had catched up to him. Now he would be slapped in the face and starved by Shane, instead of by his father. It was the same old shit. 

   "What the hell, man?" Shane groaned, having the feeling that life would be hell now that he had to take care of the "little shit". 

   "'M sorry" Daryl cried. He could feel the wetness and warmth spreading between his legs, he was so scared that he wasn't able to stop himself from having an accident. 

   Shane soon knew what had just happened because of the smell and also because he could see how wet the sheets were. He grabbed Daryl by the shoulder and shook him violently. 

   "I  _JUST_ told you that I didn't want you to have accidents! What the hell is wrong with you?" He yelled, making Daryl shrink to the smallest size he could. 

  " _Sorry_ " He cried between hiccups, not daring to look at the angry man. 

   "Go to the bathroom, take a quick shower and change. Now" He made Daryl stand up by grabbing him by his bicep. "Make one more mistake and you'll sleep on the floor for the rest of the week" 

  The boy walked to the bathroom, tooks his clothes off, got into the shower and stood under the cold water for a few minutes, still crying. Then, he put on another pair of boxers and a T-shirt, and went back to the guest room. Shane was there, so Daryl just stood in the hallway, facing the room, until the other man left. Of course, he couldn't use his wet mattress so he had to sleep on the floor. He cried himself to sleep, wishing he had ended up with someone better and loving. 

\-----

  Shane woke Daryl up shaking him by the shoulder, which started him, just like most things. 

  "I'm gonna work now, you have to stay here until I come back. I left some food in the fridge" The man said, and before he left the boys room added: "Don't fuck up, one more mistake and your ass goes back to the streets" 

  Daryl nodded quickly, scared enough to remain silent and just nod. It had happened to him too many times for him not to know that he had to choose between staying quiet and having his nose broken. 

   "Okay. I'll come back at 5" Saying that, he left the room, leaving Daryl by himself. 

  The poor boy started panicking when he heard the front door opening, meaning that Shane was going somewhere else and that he would be alone in the house. What was he supposed to do? He was feeling too little to even be able to tell if he needed to use the bathroom. And that was a problem, because Shane had told him what would happen if he had another accident and he didn't want to challenge the man to prove that how serious his threat had been. 

   So the poor little guy tried hard not to make any mistakes, focusing on staying near the bathroom and trying to go every five minutes just in case he didn't realize he actually had to go. He didn't dare to eat or drink anything, despite being hungry and thirsty, because he knew he had to focus only on not having accidents. 

  By 2pm, he was bored and sick of only sitting by the bathroom door, so he decided to bring some sheets of paper and a pen so he could draw until he wasn't bored anymore. So he spent several minutes drawing, laying on his belly as he kicked his feet up and down, and didn't notice the pressure on his bladder until he felt the wetness spreading between his legs. He quickly got up and went to look for something to clean up his accident, worried that Shane would know what had just happened if he didn't clean up quickly. He looked around the bathroom and found a rag he thought would help him clean up, which he bent down to pick up. He hurriedly knelt down on the floor and used the rag, being able to clean everything up. But when he was about to get up, he felt pressure on his bottom and sharp pain in his belly. Desperate, Daryl clutched his stomach and tried to move towards the bathroom, but he didn't have enough time because soon he felt more sharp pain in his lower belly and then it happened: he soiled his underwear. 

  "No..." He cried, unable to believe that he had just had _two_  accidents. Now Shane was going to kill him, or at least was surely going to kick him out of the house. 

  He didn't know what to do, because he didn't know how to wash his clothes or how to even wipe his own ass without making everything worse. It seemed like the older he got, the littler and "useless" he got, because when he was biologically little he was able to hunt, cook, or just live a normal life. 

  Not knowing what to do, the little guy opened the front door and left the house, running uncomfortably due to the little accident he had just had. He ran as fast as he could, not really knowing where to go since that was the first time he'd been in that neighborhood. When he got so tired he couldn't continue running, he stopped to breathe and looked around, realizing that he didn't know where he was. He panicked: he was wet and messy, and lost! 

Daryl couldn't help the sobs that just came out of his mouth, nor could he stop the tears that started coming out of his eyes and that slid down his cheeks. He sat down on the sidewalk and cried, not caring about the people that walked past him and stared, some of them wanting to comfort them and some just looking at him as if he was a total weirdo. 

The poor boy continued crying inconsolably until he heard a car pull over near him. He stopped bawling when he looked up and saw that it was a police car, which made him sit up straight in fear. He remembered how his family had always had problems with the police, so maybe he was going to have problems with them as well. 

A man came out of the car and approached him slowly, looking at him in a way he had never seen before: that man seemed to care somehow. 

"Hey, are you okay?" The man asked, leaning forward to look at him closely. He knew that the poor guy sitting on the sidewalk was a little, it was pretty obvious, but the smell of urine on his pants just stated that the guy was indeed a little. 

Daryl shook his head, hiccuping. 

The man took off his sheriff hat and placed it on the sidewalk as he sat down next to Daryl. "What's wrong? Are you lost?" He looked around and didn't see any worried caregivers running towards them and didn't hear anyone yelling any names, so he didn't think the poor little boy was where he was supposed to be. 

Daryl nodded, wiping away his tears with his fists. "Y-yeah" 

The man nodded. "Alright, let's take you home then" He stood up and held out a hand for Daryl to take it, but the boy didn't. Daryl shook his head. "You don't want to go home?" 

Daryl shook his head again. "No" He knew Shane would kill him for having accidents and for running away and getting involved with the police. 

"Why not? Don't you have a home to go back to?" The officer asked, worried about the obviously scared little guy. 

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, but I messed up" He could feel the remnants of his accident stick to his skin as he sat in the floor, and that reminded him of how bad he had fucked up. 

"What did you do?" The man asked him, terribly intrigued by this boy that seemed to crave comprehension. 

Daryl looked down at his hands. "Had accidents, an' 'm not supposed ta have any" He felt embarrassed to admit he had just peed and messed his pants, but he knew he had to tell the police officer, otherwise he could go to jail if he lied. 

The blue-eyed man nodded. "We can fix that, I can take you to the station and get you cleaned up. Then, I can take you home and they won't know you had an accident. How does that sound?" The man knew he shouldn't be even suggesting such a thing, but the poor guy seemed so stressed about it that he couldn't help it. 

Daryl nodded, that was a pretty good idea. Maybe if he got cleaned up Shane would never find out about his accident. 

 

   

  

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think uwu  
> Hope you liked it! <3


	3. Talking about the baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick takes Daryl to the police station and meets Shane there, finding out that the other man was taking care of the Little. Rick tells Shane how much he doubts the man can take care of Daryl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to continue this story, I really like it and I know you guys do too.

The man that was driving Daryl to the police station told him that his name was Rick Grimes and that he was a Caregiver, which is why he noticed that he was a Little even before he even talked to him. Daryl barely knew anything about this Caregiver/Little world, even though he was a Little, so he only paid the man the attention that was necessary. 

"So you didn't know you're a Little until now?!" Rick asked him, surprised, as he drove to the station. That was crazy, he had never heard of something like that before. 

Daryl shook his head. "Found out yesterday" He started biting his nail, just like he did when he got uncomfortable or bored. Rick noticed and tried to keep his Caregiver side out of his mind for a second, otherwise he knew he would definitely tell the boy not to chew on his thumb. 

Rick nodded. "Don't they teach this stuff at school since 1965?" He was surprised no one had talked to him about the different mindsets that existed, since awareness had increased the last 55 years due to all the depression cases that came along with ignorace. People who didn't know they were Littles usually couldn't explain their behavior and ended up killing themselves out of desperation. 

Daryl shrugged and looked out the window, feeling uncomfortable. He squirmed on his seat, feeling the plastic pad that Rick had put on top of the car seat make noises as he moved. 

"Dunno, left school when I's twelve" He said, and he felt a bit ashamed because of that statement. He didn't want the other man or anyone else to think that he was stupid, it's just that since his ma died no one had cared about him enough to take him to school or help him do homework, so he gave up when it got too difficult to keep up with. 

Rick felt his heart break. Of course he had heard stories about kids dropping off to help mantaining the house, but hearing it from this guy was just heartbreaking. He knew that not all families were supportive of Littles, since they couldn't work or go to college, but each year people made progress and society became less harsh on those that needed understanding. That's why he couldn't tolerate the though of Daryl leaving school that early, since most Littles started dropping when they were older than eighteen, which was perfect because that meant they could finish school. Yes, there were some Littles that started dropping when they were sixteen, but they at least got to know about the different types of people there were.

 

When they got to the station, Rick helped Daryl out of the car and walked him to the bathroom, where he got a pad laid on the floor for Daryl to lay down on. Since many Caregivers took their Littles to work when they couldn't get anyone to babysit for them, every workplace needed to have diapers and other supplies, such as powdered milk, wipes and pacifiers. After cleaning the boy off, Rick took a diaper from one of the cabinets and got Daryl undressed quickly. Then, he stretched the diaper out, put it under the boy's bottom and powdered his privates until he was ready to close it by using the tapes.

Rick smiled to him. "There you go, you're a clean baby now" He said, making Daryl blush. "I'm sorry we don't have any clean pants for you, though, so you'll have to walk around in your diaper" 

"Oh" Daryl looked down, blushing even deeper. He was so embarrassed he had had such a huge accident, he couldn't understand why those things were happening to him. "S-sorry I---" 

Rick shook his head. "It's okay, you couldn't help it. Littles have such small bladders and their tummies are so easy to upset that it's impossible for them to wear big kids' clothes" 

Daryl nodded, he did feel that his tummy was a bit upset and noticed that his bladder was kind of weak. He was still afraid of what Shane would say, though. "B-but my Da--- the man I live with says I can't have accidents" He told him, looking up at him with his sad puppy eyes. "He says I'm bad if I do" 

Rick clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I'd like to talk to him about that, he has to be more patient with you since you're a Little" Rick said. "Is he a Caregiver or a Neutral?"

Daryl thought about it for a second, not knowing why it mattered whether Shane was a Neutral or a Caregiver, and then he answered. "Neutral" 

Rick nodded, now understanding why whoever was taking care of Daryl was so bad at it. It's not like all Neutrals couldn't take care of Littles or be nice towards them, but most of them have up before even trying. 

"I'll talk to him, don't worry" Rick told him, making Daryl go pale. Shane would totally kill him if he knew he was at the station, and would likely take Rick's advice as an offense. 

"No! Don' tell 'im!" He wrapped his hand around Rick's wrist, stopping him from moving elsewhere. 

Rick smiled sweetly at him. "Honey, you don't have to worry about it. I'll be nice and he'll react well. Don't forget that this is a police station and we want what's best for you because you're vulnerable in this situation, so if he reacts in a wrong way he won't be allowed to see you ever again"

Rick left Daryl sitting on a chair in the waiting room and left, right after telling Daryl not to move from that spot. He had to report that there was a Little missing from his home. Daryl stayed still, only moving his legs to kick his feet slightly. He was so focused on watching his feet sway as he moved them that he didn't see the man that approached him until he had his hands on his shoulder. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shane startled him, making him yelp. Daryl looked up at him and met his angry face, which just made things a lot worse. "I leave you at my house and you dare to come visit?!" 

Daryl's eyes watered as he trembled, too scared to even speak. He didn't know why he had suddenly lost what he used to love most about himself, his bravery, but he had to admit that Shane could put his ass in the streets if he made any more mistakes, or could even punch him since he was so strong. 

"Answer me!" Shane raised his voice and leaned forward, making Daryl back up as he continued trembling. 

Daryl was about to say something to excuse himself when Rick walked into the room and approached them apparently confused. 

"Shane?" Rick said, looking at his friend with a pained expression on his face. "Why didn't you tell me that you were taking care of a Little?"

Shane clicked his tongue. "Don't know man, been so busy barely had any time to rest or anything" He looked suspiciously at Daryl and then back a Rick. "How did you know?" 

Rick smiled bitterly. "Turns out that I found a stray Little boy this afternoon and just went to report it, and when I told Bianca the name of the boy she told me that he was under your supervision" He was so angry and disappointed in his friend, he couldn't believe that the monster that Daryl had as a temporary Caregiver was the man he knew since he was a kid. "Allegedly" 

Shane furrowed his brow. "What's that supposed to mean?" How dare Rick treat him like that?

Rick cocked his head. "You clearly can't take care of a Little" As much as his protective, Caregiver side would've liked to rip Shane to shreds for not even trying to take care properly of a Little, he couldn't let that situation get the best of him, so he just grabbed Shane by the forearm and dragged him out of the waiting room and out of Daryl's sight. "Since Bianca still wants you to try– she told me–, I'm gonna tell you how" 

Shane crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm listening" He huffed, wishing he could be drinking a cold beer at home instead of having Rick lecture him for not taking care of that stupid boy. 

"First of all, you can't leave a Little alone. Ever" 

"Then what am I supposed to do? Can't exactly have him here" Shane looked around, seeing how busy the place was and how chaotic it would be for Daryl to be there. 

Rick shook his head. "No, you should've hired a nanny"

 

Shane chuckled. "I'm not gonna pay for a nanny to take care of a grown man, that would be a stupid way to waste my money" 

Rick narrowed his eyes, not able to understand why people still thought that Littles were actual grown ups. "Shane, Daryl can't take care of himself" He said, and before Shane could say something else he added: "He had a big accident today and ran away, I found him crying on the street" 

Shane looked to his side. "That son of a bitch" 

Rick nearly gasped. "So it's true" He nodded to himself. 

Shane looked at him surprised. "What's true?"

"Daryl said that you don't let him have accidents" Rick explained. "I didn't think he was lying, but hearing it from you makes it even clearer" He was so disappointed, he had hoped for Shane to be a good man but he had been a fool. 

"Of course I don't let him, it's gross!" Shane grimaced. "I don't wanna have to wipe his ass" 

"Then you shouldn't have told Bianca that you could take care of him!" Rick told him as if it was the most obvious thing, and it actually was. "Shane, Littles are like babies: they can't go to the bathroom on their own, that's why they need diapers. From now on, I want you to put Daryl in diapers and change him regularly. That's important, if you don't change him regularly he'll get a rash and will be in pain" He explained, even though he knew he was talking to a wall. 

"I'm not gonna do that" 

 

Rick tensed his jaw. "That's how Littles need to be treated, and that's how Bianca expects you to treat Daryl" 

 

Shane narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't tell on me"

Rick leaned forwar, threatening. "If you don't want me to tell her you're gonna have to treat Daryl the way he deserves, and that includes: putting him in diapers and changing him REGULARLY; feeding him appropriate Little's food, since adult's food can upset his tummy; hiring a nanny to watch him when you're at work; no threatening him when he makes mistakes and no scaring him, if he's naughty you should just put him in the corner. That's all the basic stuff you need to know" 

 

Shane's eyes went wide. "Basic?!" 

 

Rick nodded. "There are lots of more things, but the ones that I mentioned are the most important ones" He winked at Shane. He really hoped the man would stop fucking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this story makes sense :/


	4. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick tells his family about Daryl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for supporting this story! I know it's nothing like its homonymous, but I think this one makes a lot more sense and has been written more maturely than the other one.   
>  Please comment if you feel like it, it makes me really happy when you guys leave comments and ask questions. <3

Rick was totally in love with that Little boy, Daryl. He had to admit it, he couldn't stop thinking about him on the way home, nor could he get him out of his mind for even a second for the whole night. Of course, he liked Daryl as a Little and not in a romantic way, but he really was in love with that kid. 

Since he knew he was a Caregiver, after all those physical and emotional tests at school, he couldn't stop thinking about finding someone that could be his Little. All his life he had known that he had a special connection with kids and babies, who always clung to him and adored him, but when the doctors told him that it had to do with him being a Caregiver, it all made sense to him.   
He had spent his last years of adolescence trying to find a Little, but when he was twenty years old he met Lori, who was eighteen, and got her pregnant after taking her to the school dance. She had been in the same Chemistry class as his brother, Geoffrey, and the day they met they couldn't stop staring at one another. One day, Rick dared to talk to her and ask her out, and that's how he ended up living in a big house in the suburbs of Atlanta, with two kids, for a few years, before divorcing Lori. He couldn't believe that destiny– he didn't believe in destiny– well, something had made Daryl appear out of nowhere to own a piece of his heart he didn't know he could spare, a few years after he had stopped looking for a Little.

It was so weird, because when he was watching TV, he wanted Daryl to be there with him, sitting on his lap, half asleep. He wanted to comfort the boy, since he knew he wasn't exactly having a nice time at Shane's house. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to be Daryl's daddy. 

 

When he got home, Carl and Judith were already back from school, so he had nothing else to do other than cook dinner and check if they needed help with their homework. He sat down on a chair and watched his kids talk as they moved from one place to another, and he thought that they were old enough to take care of themselves, since Carl was sixteen and Judith was seven years old. Of course, Rick knew that they couldn't do everything on their own, but Carl could always help cleaning the house, cooking or taking care of his sister. That was perfect, he thought, because that meant that he could tell Bianca that he was willing to take care of Little Daryl. It was amazing how, after knowing him for a few hours, Rick had bonded with him so much. It was possible, though, for some Caregivers or Littles to find their other half and bond instantly. His History teacher had once told a true story of a woman who had found her perfect Little, who was also a woman, in the Victorian Era, and had caused such a controversy among the upper class in London. In the end, both women ran away from England and lived together for the rest of their lives in Denmark. 

 

Rick knew that he had to tell his children about the crazy idea of having Daryl stay at his house, so he decided to wait until dinner to bring that up. It was seven pm when the three of them sat at the table to eat, and Rick let a few minutes pass until he started talking. He was nervous, not knowing how that conversation would go, but he took a deep breath and tried to act as casual as possible. 

He cleared his throat. "So… this afternoon, while I was patrolling, I found a Little on the streets---" 

"What's a Little?" Judith asked, looking at her father with her big, brown eyes. Rick smiled as he saw the freckles she had on her nose and under her eyes. He loved the way those freckles looked on her, they made her even cuter. 

Her question reminded Rick of the fact that Judith was too young to have learned about Littles, Caregivers and Neutrals at school. "Well, society is divided in three parts because there are three types of people in it: Littles, Caregivers and Neutrals. When people become teenagers, doctors and psychologists visit schools to run a few tests and tell each individual what type of person they are. Littles are the ones who need to be taken care of, just as if they were babies; Caregivers are the ones who take care of Littles; Neutrals are the ones who are neither of them. Most Neutrals don't like Littles and are annoyed by them because they don't understand them and think that they're sick" 

"Are they?" Judith asked again, intrigued. 

Rick shook his head. "No, they're not. They just develop in a different way and aren't able to do the same things as Caregivers or Neutrals. That doesn't mean that they're not smart, though" He explained. He liked the way Judith looked at him, truly interested in that topic. It was important for her to be interested because that meant that she wouldn't be one of those people who insulted or mistreated Littles. 

"And what do Littles do?" Judith asked as she continued eating her salad. 

Carl just listened to the conversation, not wanting to interrupt or add anything, even though he had learned about that at school and had received his diagnose a few months earlier, after turning sixteen. 

"Littles need to be fed, changed, cuddled… They're basically babies. They play games, watch TV, take naps, etcetera" 

Judith wrinkled her nose. "B-but they're not babies anymore. They still want to be babies?" 

Rick shook his head. "No, it's not like that. They don't want to be little, they just are because they've developed that way. It's determined in their DNA" Rick told her and she nodded, understanding. "Well, as I was saying, I found this Little on the streets and took him to the station to report him missing. Turns out that Bianca told me that Shane is who's been taking care of him since yesterday, because his brother had been caught selling substances" 

"What substances?" Judith cocked her head to one side, not understanding what her father was referring to. 

Rick shook his head. "Nothing, something that's bad for people's health" 

Judith thought about it for a few moments. "Like drugs?" She asked, leaving her father astonished: when had that kid grown up so fast?!

Rick coughed. "Y-yeah, drugs specifically" 

Carl laughed at the situation and finished eating. "What about that Little?" 

Rick smiled and started daydreaming. "He-- he's so beautiful and cute…" 

"What is he like?" Judith really wanted to know what Littles were like, she didn't remember seeing any of them before. 

"He's blonde, has blue eyes and is quite tall for a Little. They tend to be shorter and smaller than average people, but he's just a few inches shorter than me, maybe five inches or so" Now that he thought about it, Daryl didn't have the appearance of a Little: he was thin but not skinny, and had a bit of muscle in his arms. "He's very shy, too, like he's afraid to talk sometimes. And he's all blushy!" Rick really loved blushy Littles, he'd always dreamed of sweetly pinching his own Little's cheeks. 

Carl chuckled. "Why did he blush?"

"Well, I had to put him in a diaper because he'd had an accident and was wearing regular underwear" Rick seemed kind of embarrassed when he answered. "That's not a smart thing to do, to put a Little in big boy– or girl–'s underwear. They need to wear diapers or pull-ups, otherwise they're gonna ruin their clothes. Littles never get to the bathroom in time, their bodies don't allow them to hold it" 

Carl's grin disappeared when he pictured the poor, little boy crying because he'd had an accident. He had seen a few Littles before in his life and knew some stuff about them. Hell, a guy he used to be friends with had been diagnosed as a Little a year earlier, so he had been in contact with them. As a Neutral, Carl didn't interact with Little boys or girls willingly, mostly because his other friends would pick on him forever, but he didn't think they were that bad; he just thought that he couldn't understand them because they were a different species. 

 

"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you guys that I want to bring him home" Rick smiled at his children, his heart beating so fast he thought it would escape his chest. What if they said they didn't want Daryl in their house? "Only if you want that too, of course" 

Judith smiled, bouncing on her seat. "Yes!" She said, enthusiastic. "I wanna meet him"

Rick smiled contently and then turned his head to Carl, who just stared down at his plate and moved his food with the fork. "...Carl?"

Carl looked up, clearly not knowing what to say, and shrugged. 

"What does that mean?" Rick asked him. 

Carl shrugged again. "Whatever" He said and then stood up and left the room. 

Rick shook his head and huffed, not knowing why he was so disappointed if he had known exactly how Carl was going to react. He knew that Lori's family had never supported him for being a Caregiver because they didn't approve his lifestyle and didn't want him to give Lori any "weird ideas". Maybe Lori had taught Carl not to like any Littles or Caregivers, he didn't know. 

It started raining and Rick immediately pictured Little Daryl sitting outside, in his dirty diaper, under the rain, crying after being kicked out by Shane. He knew that he was probably exaggerating and that Shane wasn't that evil, but the man had proved that he couldn't be trusted. 

But what if Shane ever hit or hurt Daryl? What if he starved the poor boy as a punishment for doing something insignificant? What if he kicked him out for no reason and the Little boy got lost? What if someone kidnapped Daryl if they saw him walking down the street on his own? What if he got hit by a car or a bus? 

Rick took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He knew he was blowing things out of proportion; he knew that Shane, as intolerant as he was, wouldn't ruin his own career by letting anything happen to Daryl, so he had to calm down. 

He looked down when he felt a smaller hand land on top of his, and then looked at Judith, who was standing next to him. "It's okay, when Carl sees him he'll change his mind" 

Rick nodded and smiled, even though he didn't think what his daughter had said could be possible. "Yeah"

**Author's Note:**

> Well, my cuties, I hope you've enjoyed it <3


End file.
